Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty (VH1)

JESSICA SIMPSON’S THE PRICE OF BEAUTY is a reality series that explores what makes women in different cultures feel beautiful. Cameras follow singer/actress Jessica Simpson as she travels around the world with friends CaCee Cobb and hairstylist Ken Paves to countries like Thailand, Uganda, and Brazil to take a first-hand look at the way their cultures define feminine beauty. With the help of local pop culture figures, Simpson and pals try some of the local women’s beauty regimes, many of which go back to ancient custom. They also learn about some of the painful -- and sometimes dangerous -- things women do to fulfill their culture’s expectation of what makes them beautiful.

The series offers some nonjudgmental insight into the ways different cultures define beauty, and the different ways women attempt to meet those cultural expectations. Viewers get to see how women are able to transform themselves by eating specific foods, wearing body paints, and even permanently changing parts of their anatomy. It also highlights some of the dangerous things some women do to themselves to try to meet their culture’s standard of beauty, like using damaging skin bleach or starving themselves.

It’s definitely interesting, but it also sends some mixed messages. While there is some discussion of a woman’s inner beauty, much of the focus is on how local women dress and adorn themselves to look a certain way. Meanwhile, Simpson and her companions sometimes lack cultural sensitivity, especially when they refuse to try and/or spit out local foods, and while they giggle during solemn cultural rituals. Simpson’s determination to wear extremely high-heeled shoes to remote locations makes her seem a bit silly, too. But if you can look past all of this, you can still find some fascinating information about women’s cultural traditions around the world.